BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: ab 225 SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: nestande VERSION: 5/9/13 Analysis by: Carrie Cornwell FISCAL: yes Hearing date: June 25, 2013 SUBJECT: Medium-speed vehicles DESCRIPTION: This bill defines medium-speed vehicles and makes them legal to operate on California's streets with speed limits of up to 45 miles per hour. ANALYSIS: Generally, in order for an owner to register a vehicle in California and thus make it legal to operate on public streets and highways, the vehicle must meet federal motor vehicle safety standards for the appropriate class of vehicle. Also, under both federal and state law, in order to sell a new vehicle, it must meet the same federal standards. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is the federal agency that establishes motor vehicle safety standards. In 1988, it set safety standards for low-speed vehicles, establishing a new class of vehicles that may operate in controlled, low-speed environments. Existing state and federal law defines a low-speed vehicle as a motor vehicle that is 4-wheeled; can attain a speed of no more than 25 miles per hour (MPH) on a paved, level surface; and has a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 3,000 pounds. Low-speed vehicles meet a specified subset of federal motor vehicle safety standards. Existing state law generally prohibits a driver from operating a low-speed vehicle on any street or road with a speed limit in excess of 35 MPH and authorizes local governments to restrict AB 225 (NESTANDE) Page 2 further where low-speed vehicles may operate within their jurisdictions. This bill : 1.Defines "medium-speed electric vehicle" as a vehicle that: Can attain a speed of no more than 45 MPH on a paved, level surface; Has a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 3,000 pounds; Is propelled solely by an electric motor; and Contains a vehicle identification number that meets international standards. 1.Requires that medium-speed vehicles must meet the following safety requirements: Possess a fully enclosed passenger compartment with rigid doors and safety windows; Have a horn in good working condition that can emit a sound audible from a distance of not less than 200 feet; Meet selected federal motor vehicle safety standards; and Meet or exceed any safety standards for medium-speed electric vehicles that the NHTSA adopts at some future point within one year of the adoption of such standards. 1.Prohibits an operator of a medium-speed vehicle from exceeding 45 MPH in such a vehicle and from traveling on roadways with speed limits in excess of 45 MPH. 2.Subjects medium-speed vehicles and their drivers to provisions of state law applicable to motor vehicles and their drivers. COMMENTS: 1.Purpose . The author introduced this bill to make medium-speed vehicles legal in California, because these vehicles are more energy efficient and less costly to purchase than passenger cars. He notes that in the past few years many companies have started building electric vehicles that look like small cars, vans, and trucks but that are sold as low-speed vehicles, because that is the only classification available. In reality, these vehicles can travel faster than the 25 MPH limit applied to low-speed vehicles. Some can go as fast as 50 MPH, but he asserts that all are significantly safer than AB 225 (NESTANDE) Page 3 low-speed vehicles. The author believes that if California creates a medium-speed vehicle classification it will significantly expand the opportunities to employ electric vehicles as replacements for internal combustion cars and trucks for personal transportation and utility uses. The result would be a highly beneficial impact on air quality, particularly in urban areas, as well as a reduction in fossil fuel consumption in California. 2.Unsafe at these speeds . In September 2008, the NHTSA denied petitions from three makers of medium-duty vehicles to create a new class of motor vehicle for their vehicles. In its denial, NHTSA noted that medium-speed vehicles would be subject to a set of safety standards greater than those that apply to low-speed vehicles but substantially less than the full set of safety standards that apply to passenger cars, as is the case with this bill's authorization of these vehicles in California. NHTSA stated in its denial that in contrast to low-speed vehicles, the traffic environment in which medium-speed vehicles would likely travel, including urban roads with speed limits of 35 or 45 MPH, is an environment for which the full set of federal motor vehicle safety standards is needed to prevent fatalities and serious injuries. Simply put, NHTSA concluded that medium-speed vehicles would result in "significantly greater risk of deaths and serious injuries." 3.Missing safety standards . This bill applies just a portion of the federal motor vehicle safety standards for passenger vehicles to medium-speed vehicles, including those related to windshields, wipers, mirrors, lights, window glazing, brakes, door locks, theft prevention, seat belts, roof crush resistance, rollover prevention, and electric shock prevention. The bill, however, does not apply any other passenger vehicle standards, including those most related to enabling the vehicle's occupants to survive an accident such as standards requiring air bags and showings of crash worthiness. 4.Environmental benefits . The petitioners that asked NHTSA to establish a medium-speed vehicle class and the proponents of this bill argue that medium-speed vehicles should be made legal because of the environmental benefits they provide. NHTSA disagreed and in its denial of the petitions pointed out then that it was engaged in a rulemaking to significantly increase mileage standards for passenger cars, a rulemaking precipitated by California's adoption of tailpipe greenhouse AB 225 (NESTANDE) Page 4 gas emission standards (also known as the "Pavley I" standards). NHTSA has since adopted these mileage standards, plus a second set, which together will increase average fuel efficiency to over 50 miles per gallon by 2025. Partly as a result, we are now seeing all-electric vehicles that meet all federal safety standards come to the market and become increasingly affordable. 5.Other states . At least ten other states have authorized medium-speed vehicles on their roads with speed limits of either 35 MPH or 45 MPH. These states include Colorado, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. 6.What about federal law ? It is unclear how these others states have gotten around federal law's requirement that vehicle manufacturers and dealers not make or sell vehicles unless those vehicles comply with all applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards. In its denial of the petitions on medium-speed vehicles, NHTSA noted that this requirement is not limited by state laws on medium-speed vehicles. It's unclear, therefore, whether this bill, if enacted, would actually make medium-speed vehicles legal in California or not. 7.Drafting issues . This bill includes a number of drafting errors, which make its meaning and intent unclear. Among these are: Division 1 of the Vehicle Codes includes definitions relevant to the code, including the definition of low-speed vehicles. The definition of medium-speed vehicles in this bill is not in Division 1, but should be moved there. In order to avoid overlap with the definition of motorcycles, the definition of medium-speed vehicles should include that the vehicle must have four wheels. On page 3, delete line 17, insert "A", as it is a reference to laws governing the very limited instances in which golf carts are allowed on streets and highways, but is not applicable to medium-speed vehicles. Existing law governing low-speed vehicles gives local governments the authority to restrict where those vehicles can travel within a city or county. This bill makes no AB 225 (NESTANDE) Page 5 similar provision for medium-speed vehicles. Assembly Votes: Floor: 66-0 Appr: 17-0 Trans: 12-0 POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday, June 19, 2013.) SUPPORT: Alvarez Jaguar Coachella Valley Economic Partnership Light Electric Vehicle Association City of Palm Desert City of Riverside One individual OPPOSED: None received.